Shopping on Sihanouk Boulevard, Phnom Penh

What we say:

Phnom Penh isn’t a bad city to shop for women’s clothing, if you know where to look. Local markets like Orussey are good for local fashions (think orange floral pyjama sets), head there. But, if you prefer more international style in your wardrobe, many international brands are on sale in Phnom Penh.

Russian Market is a great place to get big brand knock-offs, factory over-runs and items that have mysteriously vanished from Cambodian garment factories. In the coming weeks, I’ll devote a post exclusively to where to shop at the Russian Market. Today, I’ll focus on a few stand-alone stores on Sihanouk Boulevard where you can find international brands and women’s clothes in Western sizes.

Mango

The arrival of Mango is the ultimate validation for a city.

Spanish clothier Mango has stated that its company goal is to be present in every city in the world. It’s no surprise, then, that they were one of the first Western clothing shops to venture into Phnom Penh. Shopping at Mango will bring you back to a time when you thought spending $70 on a top was reasonable. They’ve also got a good stock of accessories, including shoes and bags. They don’t carry large sizes in every style, but do have a good range of Western sizes overall.

Axara is a women’s clothing line from Paris. This is one of the better options if you’re looking to do high-end shopping in Phnom Penh. Amusingly, they don’t seem to tailor the items they carry to the climate they serve, so right now you can pick out an autumn wardrobe that’s more suited to Paris than steamy Phnom Penh. They have nice clothing — mostly in smaller sizes — and the overly-attentive staff are a good antidote if you’re feeling lonely or ignored.

Wexport (please don’t argue that it’s meant to be We Export, it’s clearly only got one E) has locations all over Phnom Penh, but the one on Sihanouk Boulevard is the most impressive. It should be called We Import though, because most of the items sold inside seem to be produced in Vietnam. They carry popular brands like Banana Republic, Levis and H&M, although usually only the brightest coloured items from these lines.

87 Sihanouk Blvd, Phnom PenhT: (012) 351 411

bYSI

Had to take this pic from far away because the security guard almost decked me when I got closer.

bYSI is a popular brand from Singapore that “provides designer-worthy apparels at accessible price points”. They’ve got lots of cute dresses, tops and skirts, and the staff seemed to be used to foreigner shoppers, as they don’t try to stand next to you as you browse. Despite using almost exclusively Western models in the ad campaigns and blonde-haired mannequins, the styles are designed for those under 163 cm tall (read, the dresses are very short). They carry sizes up to an Australian 16.

About the author: Lina Goldberg
Previously, Lina has been based in Oakland, California, New York City, Dublin and London. Lina spends most of her time thinking about food, travel and synthpop. She's currently based in Siem Reap.